Photos: This week at the State Capitol August 4-8

August 8, 2014 3:33 PM

Billy Easton, executive director of The Alliance for Quality Education, speaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

Billy Easton, executive director of The Alliance for Quality Education, speaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. ... more

Senator Neil Breslin speaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

Senator Neil Breslin speaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times ... more

Billy Easton, executive director of The Alliance for Quality Education, speaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

Billy Easton, executive director of The Alliance for Quality Education, speaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. ... more

Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk speaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk speaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times ... more

Jess Laymon, executive director of EffectiveNYspeaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

Jess Laymon, executive director of EffectiveNYspeaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 in Albany, N.Y. ... more

Superintendent of Schenectady City School District Laurence Spring speaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

Superintendent of Schenectady City School District Laurence Spring speaks about the underfunding of schools in New York State during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building on Thursday, Aug. 7, ... more

Lieutenant governor candidate Kathy Hochul on her way to a meeting with Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy and County Legislature Vice Chair Karen Johnson Friday August 8, 2014, in Schenectady, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) less

Lieutenant governor candidate Kathy Hochul on her way to a meeting with Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy and County Legislature Vice Chair Karen Johnson Friday August 8, 2014, in Schenectady, NY. (John Carl ... more

Lieutenant governor candidate Kathy Hochul, right, with, from left, New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian Strattonand, a former Schenectady Mayor, County Legislature Vice Chair Karen Johnson, also a ... more

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the Concourse at Empire Sate Plaza is missing its centerpiece, a glass sculpture titled “Seeds of Enlightenment,” by artist Eric Hilton, Friday, 8, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. The statue was damaged July 4 which apparently went unnoticed. The empty pedestal base is now only visible remains of the sculpture. (Will Waldron/Times Union) less

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the Concourse at Empire Sate Plaza is missing its centerpiece, a glass sculpture titled “Seeds of Enlightenment,” by artist Eric Hilton, Friday, 8, 2014, in ... more

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the Concourse at Empire Sate Plaza is missing its centerpiece, a glass sculpture titled “Seeds of Enlightenment,” by artist Eric Hilton, Friday, 8, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. The statue was damaged July 4 which apparently went unnoticed. The empty pedestal base is now only visible remains of the sculpture. The photo at left features Dr. King, center, with Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, right, and Francis Joseph Spellman, Cardinal Archbishop of New York, left. (Will Waldron/Times Union) less

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the Concourse at Empire Sate Plaza is missing its centerpiece, a glass sculpture titled “Seeds of Enlightenment,” by artist Eric Hilton, Friday, 8, 2014, in ... more

Roger Downs, Sierra Club conservation director, speaks about oil trains proximity to schools during a news conference on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) less

Roger Downs, Sierra Club conservation director, speaks about oil trains proximity to schools during a news conference on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy ... more